How to read this: these lines track how the company manages day-to-day cash. Debtor days is how long customers take to pay; inventory days is how long stock sits before selling; days payable is how long the company takes to pay its own suppliers. Fewer debtor and inventory days generally means cash comes in faster; more days payable means the company holds its cash longer. The right level varies a lot by industry, so the trend over time matters more than any single number.
How to read this: return on capital employed (ROCE) shows how much operating profit the company earns from every unit of capital it uses, as a percentage. A higher, steady line over the years suggests the business uses its capital efficiently. As with most ratios, the multi-year trend tells you more than any single year.
| Period | Debtor Days | Inventory Days | Days Payable | Cash Conversion Cycle | Working Capital Days | ROCE % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 18 | 248 | 49 | 217 | 39 | 18 |
| FY2016 | 17 | 257 | 42 | 231 | 74 | 14 |
| FY2017 | 27 | 187 | 45 | 169 | 70 | 12 |
| FY2018 | 13 | 179 | 52 | 140 | 30 | 10 |
| FY2019 | 10 | 218 | 99 | 130 | 9 | 16 |
| FY2020 | 9 | 199 | 74 | 134 | 21 | 20 |
| FY2021 | 18 | 222 | 70 | 170 | 33 | 15 |
| FY2022 | 21 | 247 | 75 | 192 | 42 | 17 |
| FY2023 | 15 | 190 | 75 | 131 | 21 | 22 |
| FY2024 | 16 | 242 | 67 | 191 | 56 | 23 |
| FY2025 | 34 | 224 | 56 | 202 | 89 | 26 |
| FY2026 | 52 | 233 | 55 | 230 | 115 | 30 |
Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.